Soares: There's still more to accomplish

David Soares is seeking a third term as Albany County's top prosecutor

Updated 10:53 am, Monday, May 21, 2012

Primary day is Election Day in the race for Albany County district attorney.

In September, incumbent David Soares and challenger Lee Kindlon lock horns in a Democratic race that, for all intents, will decide who holds the office for the next four years. No GOP candidate has surfaced in the heavily Democratic county.

Soares, 42, stunned the political establishment when he upset his predecessor, Paul Clyne, in a primary in 2004. With two terms and one easy re-election under his belt, Soares hopes his record will propel him to a third term and past his first significant challenge.

Kindlon, 35, the son of high-profile Albany defense attorney Terence L. Kindlon, brings experience as a defense attorney, military prosecutor and Iraq war veteran to the race. He, too, is running on Soares' record — and says it is time for a change.

Could another upset be in the works, or will Soares cruise to re-election?

ALBANY — Back in 2004, David Soares had a choice: To pull off the biggest political upset in the history of Albany County, or leave for a new life in Georgia.

At the time, heading south probably seemed like his most likely destiny. But he won the election, toppling incumbent District Attorney Paul Clyne. In 2008, he easily won a second term.

Soares has been Albany County's top prosecutor for nearly eight years. In that time his office, personal life and address have all changed.

If he wants to serve a third term, Soares, who has the backing of the Albany County Democratic Committee, will have to defeat attorney Lee Kindlon in a Democratic primary in September.

Has he earned four more years?

In an interview, Soares, 42, boasted of his record, said he expects to be re-elected and discussed his personal life. He also said he has no regrets about not prosecuting Occupy Albany protesters who were charged with trespassing after camping out on parkland across from the state Capitol for several months last fall.

"You are sitting or standing 40 to 50 yards away from a building that is passing legislation, creating laws and policies that govern the entire state of New York and the idea that you cannot occupy space and express your First Amendment right is offensive on so many different levels," he said during the interview in the home of his campaign manager, Kathleen Campbell.

Soares equally defended his office's high-profile 2007 steroids case, which began with a raid on Signature Compounding Pharmacy in Orlando, Fla. The case resulted in 17 convictions.

"I knew in '05 what the vast majority of Americans know today, which is the greatest and most present threat to every community are prescription drugs," Soares said.

In the last four years, Soares and his wife, Tina Pantuso, the mother of his two children, separated. He has since moved from Bethlehem to Albany and back to Bethlehem.

Asked if he would have changed anything, Soares said: "I certainly would have had more balance in my life at the early onset. I was very consumed with changing the culture of, not only the office but also law enforcement in this county, where I came in very early to the office and stayed late. It had an impact. On my personal life, I could have been more measured in balancing my time."

Soares is now in a relationship with Stacey Quackenbush, a secretary in his office. Quackenbush still works there and Soares said she is searching for a new job.

"It certainly was not the intention to be in a relationship with someone in the office but it is something that I recognize every day and something that we're working very aggressively to remedy," Soares said.

Soares said he still enjoys support from billionaire financier George Soros, who helped bankroll his 2004 run. His base — left-leaning voters, the Working Families Party and the city of Albany — remains intact. Opponents remain, such as police union officials, defense attorneys and old-school Albany Democrats bitter that a little-known African-American prosecutor from Rhode Island took out Clyne, the son of Albany Judge "Maximum" John Clyne.

Soares' record is being debated. His backers cite cases against politicians (such as ex-state comptroller Alan Hevesi), which they say Soares' predecessors would never have considered. Soares touts his community outreach, tougher standards on drunken driving cases, wiretap-aided cases against drug and gambling rings, improved technology and a greater concentration on financial crimes such as mortgage fraud.

Statistics show the conviction rate for the district attorney's office has plummeted for much of Soares' time in office. Rates steadily dropped in most categories before improving over the last three years. His office's spending habits were repeatedly criticized in 2008 election year audits by County Comptroller Michael Conners; Soares said the audits were politically motivated.

In 2004, Soares ran on a platform supporting change in the harsh Rockefeller-era drug laws, but defense attorneys say clients still receive serious time for drug offenses. Statistics from the state Division of Criminal Justice Services show that from 2007 to 2011, the number of Albany County defendants going to state prison for drug felonies dropped from 194 to 144.

But over that period, the number of felony drug sentences also decreased from 509 to 333, which means the percentage of defendants going to prison rose from 38.1 to 43.2 percent.

The numbers, however, are a tough measurement for Soares' office because felony drug cases brought by the state attorney general's office also factor into the statistics.

"Given what we're looking at here in New York state, it's fair to say he's been an important voice for sane and effective policies," Sayegh said.

Soares said his approach targets sophisticated drug pipelines plaguing Albany County — not just street-level dealers.

"Having said that, Rockefeller drug reform never meant that we were not going to prosecute people who broke the law and were selling crack cocaine in communities," Soares said.

He promises "one standard of justice" as a hallmark of his tenure, though his critics say the reality is far different. Veteran Troy-based defense attorney E. Stewart Jones, who backs Kindlon, said the "one standard" approach is phony.

"We are dealing with human beings who are individuals and you have to individualize the assessment of every case," Jones said. "You can't cookie-cutter the criminal justice system. One size does not fit all."

On Tuesday, Soares said: "Having one standard, quite frankly, is not difficult at all. It makes things easier ... but it isn't as if someone is coming in and they're being charged with a crime and all of a sudden we put it into a computer and out comes this piece of paper that tells us how much time that person should get based upon those facts. We engage in a dispassionate review of the facts."

Soares dismisses criticism from attorneys — including Kindlon.

"I came into an office where the local establishment, I don't think 'hated' is too strong a word," Soares said, describing how he believes he was initially regarded by those in the area's law enforcement power structure. "I had to work with members in law enforcement who didn't trust me, didn't like my politics and questioned every single move ... so I've been through all those things. Political criticism — it's par for the course. I don't place any weight on those individuals and their criticisms."

His once-cool relationship with police has improved. Soares caused a stir in 2006 when he told a Vancouver audience that a failed drug war "provides law enforcement officials with lucrative jobs." Now he praises the work of Albany Police Chief Steven Krokoff and County Sheriff Craig Apple.

But the memory of 2004 is not forgotten.

"You have to remember that I took an office back in 2004 that was just lacking in so many ways and brought it into really the 21st century and it's an exciting place to be," he said. "And there's so much more that we need to accomplish."